Have you heard of Birken Forest Monastery? It is a Canadian monastery based on the Thai Forest Tradition. Here's a link: http://birken.ca/ I know Canada is a big place, so I don't know how close it is to you, but maybe you can go and visit one day.

Ajahn Jayasaro is an excellent teacher, even if you don't live near a monastery you are very fortunate to have come across the Dhamma online. May your practice meet with success.

With Metta,

Guy

Four types of letting go:

1) Giving; expecting nothing back in return2) Throwing things away3) Contentment; wanting to be here, not wanting to be anywhere else4) "Teflon Mind"; having a mind which doesn't accumulate things

“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.” - Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:in mountain clefts and chasms,loud gush the streamlets,but great rivers flow silently.- Sutta Nipata 3.725

I myself am feeling a bit guilty. I can make excuses about my crazy busy schedule, but I suppose there is no excuse to not sit on your cushion for at least 10 minutes... I really haven't meditated in a long time, I go through periods of meditating a lot, then reading the suttas a lot, then meditating a lot again... phases of intense learning, then intense practicing... but all the while being mindful, compassionate and utilizing the dharma in my everyday life. In any event, I think starting tomorrow I'm going to try at least 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the evening.

Laurens wrote:I set myself the goal of doing at least 20 mins of sitting and 20 mins of walking meditation each day for the rest of the month.

It might not sound too tough, but last Christmas I found maintaining my meditation practice during all the commotion quite difficult!

Best of luck Laurens. I really like your avatar photo, heh!!

Also, an update: I meditated for 15 minutes today and struggled the whole time. I feel great though. I achieved a few moments of pure mind silence which was amazing and made me smile. Unfortunately I had to put away the cushion when my friend called me with a bit of a crisis. But, alas, Ananda, "admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie is actually the whole of the holy life."

It's been a while now since I've meditated on a daily basis, and it's time to get serious, so I'm vowing to meditate 10 minutes of walking a day, for a week, and then doing 10 minutes of walking, and 10 minutes of sitting, twice a day for two weeks after that. From there, I'll bump it up in increments of 5 minutes from there. Hopefully this will give me the concentration to get around to getting a skeleton for my trip before the middle of February.

Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu! I am making a new aditthana for the new year to meditate in a formal posture for an hour each day until 4/1/10. Be well!

Sadhu! That sounds great! (by formal posture, you mean the traditional Lotus position, or something more like native american style?) I'm also curious. I'd like to start a topic about being mindful, and meditating in large metropolitan areas. Because from my experience, there isn't a day that goes by where SOMETHING doesn't happen!

Update!I meditated for roughly 20 minutes a day for about a week then gradually dropped off. I found that I spent more time exercising (which was my other goal to do once per day) than meditating. Well, at least I'm doing one thing right.Today, though, I meditating for 10 minutes with my fiance and I'm hoping his support will encourage me to practice more often. We're a little sangha, he and I! (And my dog, she likes to watch us meditate and listen to dharma talks when I play them, heh)

...and Orbiting Awareness, I'd be interested in reading what you have to say about meditating in metropolitan areas -- I used to live in a big city and hear all sorts of craziness at all hours of the day (and night). Do you think that sort of thing challenges us and makes our meditation better or impedes on the process altogether?

withoutcolour wrote:and Orbiting Awareness, I'd be interested in reading what you have to say about meditating in metropolitan areas -- I used to live in a big city and hear all sorts of craziness at all hours of the day (and night). Do you think that sort of thing challenges us and makes our meditation better or impedes on the process altogether?

the suttas say 'gone to the wilderness to the root of a tree, or to an empty building' the wilderness mentioned isn't some safe serene place as would be commonly thought, but somewhere you may get eaten by tigers, or snakes I know of two occurrences of this happening to monks in the last century with snakes partially swallowing them, once in thailand and the other in tibet, pretty much the same story just different people and area and other stories of encounters with Tigers one straight from the monks mouth. It would of been the same 2500 years ago! would you say that place was conductive to meditation?

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them. But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion … ...He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.John Stuart Mill

withoutcolour wrote:and Orbiting Awareness, I'd be interested in reading what you have to say about meditating in metropolitan areas -- I used to live in a big city and hear all sorts of craziness at all hours of the day (and night). Do you think that sort of thing challenges us and makes our meditation better or impedes on the process altogether?

the suttas say 'gone to the wilderness to the root of a tree, or to an empty building' the wilderness mentioned isn't some safe serene place as would be commonly thought, but somewhere you may get eaten by tigers, or snakes I know of two occurrences of this happening to monks in the last century with snakes partially swallowing them, once in thailand and the other in tibet, pretty much the same story just different people and area and other stories of encounters with Tigers one straight from the monks mouth. It would of been the same 2500 years ago! would you say that place was conductive to meditation?

Although your physical safety isn't always assured in a populated area, I'm sure you're safer there then in the jungle, but for the sensory assault, that may be a different story. As for my meditation situation (that kinda rolls off the fingers. ) I did my 10 minutes of walking while covering for my sister at a Dog day care center. It's funny how the dogs like to tilt their heads at me and follow me around. I also did an additional 30 minutes with my friend, which is always encouraging when you have someone to meditate with.

withoutcolour wrote:and Orbiting Awareness, I'd be interested in reading what you have to say about meditating in metropolitan areas -- I used to live in a big city and hear all sorts of craziness at all hours of the day (and night). Do you think that sort of thing challenges us and makes our meditation better or impedes on the process altogether?

Well I feel that people are products of their environment, and if you're in a crazy enough place, for long enough... Chances are you might go crazy! But I think that you can truly practice the Dhamma anywhere. Living in a bustling place with all kinds of tantalizing distractions coming and going, your willpower will be tested time and again, which in the long run can help you greatly. As for Impeding on the process? Well, I'd say I've hit quite a few speed bumps in my practice, that I probably wouldn't have encountered if I was say in the middle of nowhere, U.S.A. There are quite a few trade offs to living in a populated area. If I didn't live here, I wouldn't have encountered the Dhamma! It's not the most serene place, but if you are around other people, chances are someone's meditating among them, even if that person is you!

Just a friendly reminder regarding the purpose of this thread as per the original post:

Welcome to the Dhamma Wheel meditation challenge.The purpose of this thread is to provide an avenue by which members can find support and be supported by members of our community in the challenge of maintaining their daily practice. Members may wish to utilise this thread by diarising the vicisitudes of daily meditation, by making public a challenge they may set for themselves to maintain their daily practice, and for members to support others. Members may wish to start something like a monthly 'club' of co-practitioners who share the same ambition of maintaining their practice for the month of (say) November and provide mutual support for each other.The focus of the thread should be about giving and receiving support. For issues relating to the efficacy of one technique over another, then that should be in its own thread.

Just like our meditative practices, it might be wise to refocus, And in this instance, a refocus of our discussion on this thread. Thanks for your cooperation!

Ben

“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.” - Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:in mountain clefts and chasms,loud gush the streamlets,but great rivers flow silently.- Sutta Nipata 3.725

“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.” - Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:in mountain clefts and chasms,loud gush the streamlets,but great rivers flow silently.- Sutta Nipata 3.725

Maybe a little formal introduction would help. My name is James and I have been practicing Buddhism for about 7 months now. I'm rather eclectic - I've been to Vajrayana centres, Zen centres and had discussions with a Theravadin Monk. I had resolved to focus on Shikantaza meditation originally in this New Year, but recently have decided to get back to the basics with some Anapanasati. I do about 20 mins a day (excluding time on the bus), and attend a Zen Centre about once a week. I think I will suggest that from this day forward I will do 20 mins as part of my morning routine, as well as bus time, and atleast 5 minutes every night.

Edit: I'm not attached to missing a minute here or there, I'm just trying to get myself going.

adept wrote:Trying very hard to maintain 20-30 minutes daily of Anapanasati while in full lotus. I may dedicate one day per week to metta meditation as I think it's something I need to work on.

Then again, the focus of my meditations may change as I get to grips with Ven. Analyo's Sattipathana Sutta book.

All the best with that adept!As you know, we've been discussing aspects of Venerable's book and I am continually referring to it in different threads.Personally, I've always found the Visuddhimagga an invaluable aid with anapana-sati, though i can tell Venerable Analayo's book will likewise be an invaluable aid in my meditation practice!kind regards

Ben

“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.” - Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:in mountain clefts and chasms,loud gush the streamlets,but great rivers flow silently.- Sutta Nipata 3.725